


Espresso

by perezimovat



Series: Cold Coffee [1]
Category: Gilmore Girls
Genre: Angst, F/M, Falling In Love, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Love, Multi, Pregnancy, Second Chances, Single Parents, Unplanned Pregnancy, Unrequited Love, i don't know if there's a tag for this or not but like unexpected found family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-26
Updated: 2020-11-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:49:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27645748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/perezimovat/pseuds/perezimovat
Summary: Taking place after A Year In the Life, Rory settles working on her book, her angst ridden drama about not finding work finally gone, she is now starting to thrive finally finding her feet. Her pregnancy takes on new struggles that she's wholly unprepared for, but with the support network around her, she finds herself reconnecting with Jess, who has moved back to Stars Hollow.
Relationships: Dean Forester/Rory Gilmore, Lorelai Gilmore & Jess Mariano, Lorelai Gilmore & Rory Gilmore, Luke Danes/Lorelai Gilmore, Rory Gilmore & Jess Mariano, Rory Gilmore/Jess Mariano, Rory Gilmore/Logan Huntzberger
Series: Cold Coffee [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2027905
Comments: 6
Kudos: 33





	1. That's How You End Up With No Underwear

**Author's Note:**

> Basically I've been obsessed with Gilmore Girls as of late and I wanted to make my own thing after the revival, (which had a lot of issues that I am very unhappy with) and every night this week I've been going to bed fantasizing about this first chapter. Will I ever finish it? Who knows, but I'm planning on making this a series, if I can be bothered.  
> Enjoy!

Giving a low huff, Rory bent as low as she could to try and pick up the bag of pretzels she had dropped. Which was proving useless given the size of her pultruding stomach. She needed one of those grabby stick things that Taylor was such a lover of, often seeing him on the street chasing kids with it after they threw garbage on the sidewalk instead of in the trashcans. Well trashcan. Taylor had decided to get rid of all but one trashcan from the sidewalk. He really had himself to blame. Paul Anka whined slightly from the front room, smelling the pretzels that were scattered across the ground. 

Relenting, Rory spread her legs and bent her knees, looking like a bizarre version of a penguin, she began to hobble, trying to pick up each individual pretzel as the door opened. 

Head tilting up she glanced as Jess, tall and dark as always hobbled through himself, silver steel crutches and a plaster cast around his left ankle. He was slightly more stooped than usual. Taking one look at Rory though, he was able to assess the situation. Putting the crutches to one side, he bent himself, a little awkward and wobbly but much better than Rory's attempt. Scooping up the pretzels and the bag with ease into his hands && placing them on the table.

"Thanks." Rory said, straightening herself up, pressing a hand to her back and giving a sigh. "You know this was so much easier to do when I didn't resemble marshmallow man."

"You don't resemble marshmallow man," Jess informed her with ease, taking the pretzels that had been on the floor and quickly moving towards the trashcan. 

"No!"

Jess stopped, pausing as Rory took the salty snacks from him, devolving his plan. "You can't be serious. How long were they on the floor."

"Irrelevant. 5 second rule applies."

"Which doesn't count here."

"They're still good."

"Paul Anka wouldn't even eat them."

"Paul Anka is on a rich luxe diet. Of course he wouldn't eat them." Rory took one from his hand and broke it apart, eating some of it. Jess stared for a moment then shook his head.

"You and your mother become more alike every single day." He said with some finality.

"Thank you,"

"That wasn't a compliment."

"Well I'm taking it as one."

"It's not a compliment."

"Fine it's not a compliment. What happened to your leg?"

"Burning building. Saving a cat from certain death." He replied with a shrug, moving to sit at the kitchen table with small grunt and a sigh. Rory followed him, still nibbling at the pretzels.

"Not that believable."

"Fine I got into a knife fight."

"And used your foot?"

"-There was this swan and he beaked-"

"So you attacked him with a ladle."

"Only way to get a swan off your ass."

"And then?"

"I fell off your roof whilst cleaning the guttering."

"See was that so hard?" She asked with a slight smile, her hands curling gently around her sweater, watching Jess with bright eyes that seemed completely unhindered. Jess tilted his head with some interest before Rory tapped her fingers against the wood of the kitchen. "Do you want a coffee?" She asked. "Decaf I'm afraid, mom won't allow anything else in the house otherwise."

"How does she get her fix?"

"Mexican drug cartels I think." She said with some amusement filtering the air, conversation always easy with Jess. He never pushed or made things difficult and right now she preferred that over anything else. It was kinda like talking to mom. Ebb and flow of conversation. Like there was some author writing out what they were saying and they didn't even need to think. It was nice. It was easy. 

"Is it bad?" She asked, pouring some coffee into a cup and taking a sip, frowning at the lack of caffeine. He leaned back, holding the knee of his jeans and assessing his ankle for a second. 

"Had worse. And it's a fracture not a break."

Rory hovered for a second. "Did you want coffee?"

"Coffee without the caffeine sounds rather pointless. Like cold brew coffee." Jess responded simply. "It's fine. I won't be here long."

A slight pang of disappointment met Rory's chest in a surprising way. She wasn't expecting him to stay long but at the same time, she had rather hoped that he would. It would definitely make the evening more enjoyable. Her eyes didn't reflect that, instead watching him as he moved around on the seat, pushing his hair back from his face and stroking his cheek as he reached forward to pull the manuscript forward.

"How many chapters have we written?"

"Ten." Came the solemn reply and Jess looked over at her. Rory gave a sigh and tapped her temple slightly. "Apparently baby brain happens during the pregnancy as well." 

Jess said nothing to that, instead letting his gaze flicker over her then to her stomach before then turning back to the pages. "Where are we up to?" He asked, flicking over the title page.

"Chilton. Well, just graduating Chilton." Rory pulled a seat and sat herself down beside him, hands curled around the mug and watching him intently as he pulled a pencil from his off shoulder bag and made sure it was sharp enough. Her expression remained soft as she watched him get to work. "Thanks for doing this Jess, I normally have more confidence in my writing but it's just lately-"

"Baby brain." Jess confirmed with ease, circling a word and adding a small annotation on the side. "I get it." His fingers went across the words with ease and he looked over at her with a sweet expression. "Where's your mom and Luke?" He asked. "Can't have left you for the night alone."

"They're on date night." Rory said. "I told them to go. Mom made a whole song and dance about it."

"Chicago or West-Side Story?"

"It was more like Hey Dolly." She shrugged. "Mom's under the impression that I'm going to give birth on her carpet any second now." Jess glanced up, eyes slightly worried, Rory caught the expression and laughed. "I'm not, I've got thirteen weeks left still."

Jess gave a low sigh and began to work again, turning the page and reading over. Satisfied, he turned to the next page, and then the next, Rory sitting watching. Impressed with the speed he was going at. Even knowing he was a quick reader, this seemed a little too much, her eyes narrowed slightly and she took a sip of her coffee. Soon Jess was already on chapter four and she had to speak up.

"Aren't you going to fast?"

"I'm skimming." He replied. "Making sure it flows well, I'm not actually reading it. Anything that is a little jarring, I'll make a note beside it. But you haven't lost your touch that much Rory." He made a slight note above chapter seven. Rory tilted her head to see what he was doing, but couldn't make out his writing from this angle. And he was already moving on to the next page. Licking his fingers as he worked through each single paragraph. 

"Look at you go." She commented. "You'll be done before I finish my coffee."

"I don't believe that for a second," Jess responded with a chuckle, scanning the page. "Have you found somewhere to live yet?" He asked. 

"It isn't distracting you if I talk?"

"Please." He gave her a look before then circling a paragraph, he made to write something on the side but decided against it before reaching back into his shoulder bag and pulling out a spiral notebook that he had been using for this particular project, flicking it open and making a very long note on the side. Rory watched for a second then leaned back, knowing that this was all good intent, Jess was good at this kind of thing. And lately, her head hadn't been in the right place to even begin. It might have been an idea to start this after she had the baby, but there was an almost desperate attempt inside of her to get this out on paper before she became too busy to even think about it. She hadn't even figured out where she was going to end, just every chapter felt like a natural end to something. 

She gave a sigh. "Not yet. There's a place not far from mom's that I like, but I can't afford it. I think I'm just going to stick it out here before thinking too much on it." Her fingers knotted between the threads of her cardigan, thoughtful for a moment. Jess gave a nod. "I could maybe get the money from grandma, but she's so settled now I don't want to bring that to her door."

"Renting?" Jess asked. 

"It's all we millennials can afford." Rory said. 

"What about that front we gave you for the book?" He asked, stopping and sitting up, pushing his hair back again. 

"Oh that's spent already." She waved her hand. "The moment I got the cheque, mom and I bought like four boxes of baby stuff. And underwear." Jess smiled, and it caused Rory to smile too. "Jess-"

"Mm?"

"Thank you for this. Thanks for all of this. You really didn't need to do this. And then getting your printing company to back it? You don't even know if it's going to do well. What if it tanks? What if it doesn't sell? What if I cause you to go bankrupt?" 

"Then we'll go bankrupt. But that's not going to happen." He told her with a shrug. 

"Don't be glib, Jess, because that's how you end up with no underwear." 

"I've managed before without it," Came the easy reply. 

Rory fell silent, a small smile across her features as she silently enjoyed how effortless conversation between them was. Like all those years of hurt and time spent between them never happened. Like she never was with Dean again, or ever met Logan. The smile faltered at the thought of Logan and how he had taken the news. Her fingers knotted slightly and Rory felt a lump rise to her throat, unable to swallow it. Jess didn't seem to notice, He was too engrossed in the pages of her manuscript, pencil rolling between his fingers as he worked. She couldn't thank him enough for being her editor throughout this. And the advance that his publishing house had given her was enough for her to live comfortably for a while before the book was published and prepare for the baby. 

Though, preparation wasn't exactly the thing she was concerned about. 

The fact that this still didn't seem real. And looking at Jess made it worse. Like she was still the seventeen year old kid holding a candle for him. Like she was still the disappointed in the fact that he never got prom tickets or how he ran away from her. 

She wasn't good at hiding her emotions these days, so carefully, trying to keep subtle, she wiped the corner of her eye and gave a small shaky sigh. 

Jess looked up finally, catching her expression. "You alright?" He asked. "Weren't thinking too much about me without underwear?"

Rory choked a laugh before shaking her head. "No, just thinking." 

"Don't want to do that." Jess said, turning the page over and handing back the manuscript. She raised an eyebrow carefully waiting for him to talk. Jess copied before giving a small smile. "It's good. It's really good. Really snappy and witty. It just needs tightening up in a few places. And whilst I like all the facts and figures you're giving me Miss Yale, I want to read more about how it made you feel. Add some more of that in there, and you're good."

"What do you think of the Chapter Titles?"

"The songs and movie references?" Jess asked. "A little cliché, c'mon Gilmore. You're better than that."

Rory frowned for a moment, pulling the thick set pages towards her and leafing them through. She then brightened at the idea. "What if the Chapter Titles were things said in the chapter?" She asked.

"Much better." 

Rory beamed and reached forward, grabbing a pen and a notebook, scribbling down the idea at the bottom of what looked like countless other notes and things that she was planning for the book, before then looking up at Jess with soft blue eyes. He shared her expression for a second then let out a low sigh, pulling himself up from where he was and going over towards his crutches, unsteady for a long moment. "I better go." He said with some finality. 

"Wait, Jess-"

"I'll be back next week to read your progress over." He said. "Or two weeks, just let me know."

"I-"

"I think the sooner we get it polished and looking good, you'll have plenty of time to relax whilst the company does the mind-numbing stuff."

"Yeah-"

"Book bindings, photoshoots, press, circulation and all that."

"Jess wait."

Jess stopped, he already had his jacket on and had slung his bag over his shoulder, balancing precariously in the kitchen waiting to go. Rory wasn't too sure why he was suddenly in a rush to leave, but then again, she never knew what Jess was thinking. The man was as taciturn as Luke was and it almost drove her mad with it. She stood, watching him, fingers threaded through the knit of her sweater and cheeks slightly pink as she couldn't believe the next words that fell from her mouth.

"We have leftover pizza."

"Leftover? In the Gilmore house? Leftover?"

"It's Lukes."

"You got Luke to eat pizza?"

"Well, half of it."

"That's more plausible."

Rory fidgeted. "Look, I just- could you stay for a while? Whilst my mom is out? Save you drivi- How did you get here anyway? You can't be driving with a fractured foot."

"I walked."

"You walked?"

"Okay I skipped."

"Jess."

Jess shrugged it off. "I just walked Rory."

"On a broken foot?"

"Fractured."

"On a fractured foot?"

"Yes."

"You walked all the way from Lukes on a fractured foot?"

"Well, see the holo-deck was having a technical difficulty and Mr Scott couldn't get the right signal for this place." 

"You're avoiding answering my question."

"Am I?"

"Jess!"

"I'll stay Rory!" He assured with a laugh. "Since you're so insistent." His expression was gentle and kind, softened brown eyes staring down at her before then giving her arm a squeeze in reassurance. Turning his head around, he began to limp into the sitting room where Paul Anka was lying on the rug stretched out and napping. His soft snores filling the space. Rory watched Jess go over and remove his jacket and bag again, this time putting them to one side before dropping onto the couch and giving a low grunt as he elevated his leg. Her hand went to her stomach for a second where she a nudge and then turned to go get the pizza out of the fridge and the four boxes of leftover Chinese food from Al's Pancake world. Moving back into the sitting room, she placed all the items down on the coffee table and then went to go get a couple of bottles of soda and some tumblers from the cabinets.

Returning, she sat down beside Jess and picked up the remote, switching the television on. "Thanks Jess." She said quietly.

He turned his head slightly, looking at her with a smile before giving a nod. "It's alright." He said. His gaze lingered on her for a long moment as she then turned to see what she could find, at the same time, yanking a knitted blanket over herself

"Columbo night?" She asked, fixing her expression.

"Columbo sounds good." Jess responded quietly as she stuck it on.

* * *

Key in the door, Lorelai crept in, holding a cup of coffee in her hand, half drunk and her beret slightly askew. Her boots clicked on the wooden floor beneath her and she gave a low curse as she yanked them off. And here she thought that sneaking in was well past her. She could hear the TV going still, but it was well past one, so Rory must have left it on for Paul Anka to fall asleep to. Poor thing was getting old and cranky. He couldn't sleep without something making noise.

Luke was parking the car, after complaining to Lorelai for the one-trillionth time that she was doing it wrong and parking on a rocky drive would cut at the wheels. Lorelai let him. It was one of the joys she had, having a reason to get Luke so riled up about nothing. 

Putting her coffee cup on the sideboard, she reached down and yanked off her heeled boots, tossing them to one side into the big pile of shoes that she still needed to sort out but were her most comfortable and most worn. Then pulling off her jacket and her scarf, hanging those up. Maybe Rory was still awake in her room reading. 

Moving into the sitting room, she spotted Jess lying on the sofa, his head rested against the cushion and snoring slightly, his arm curled around on half of a blanket. The other half wrapped around Rory. Her knees tucked up as far as her bump would allow her to go, leaning against Jess and sleeping soundly against him. 

Footsteps behind her, Lorelai, tapped Luke's chest and pointed at them, mouthing a list of words that Luke was too tired to really decipher.

"We should wake them up." He managed to finally understand.

"Why?" He mouthed back.

"Because, sleeping on a sofa? They should go to bed."

"They look quite comfortable there on the sofa."

"But what if Jess accidentally moves and hurts the baby, that's our grandkid in there, you want Jess to kill your only grandkid?"

"Jess might be an idiot but he never managed to do that."

"Who said anything about him being an idiot?"

"You're ridiculous." Luke said with a sigh, nudging her into the house and closing the door behind him, locking it and yanking off his coat. "Drink your coffee and go upstairs."

"I want another one."

"No." 

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"Tell you what, you agree to me saying no, and I'll make you pancakes for breakfast tomorrow."

"You're not just saying that to get me upstairs."

"Absolutely not." Luke lied with ease. "Fluffiest pancakes in the world tomorrow at 8am."

"Ew."

"9am."

"Ew."

"10am. - Fine! 11!"

"You're the best." Lorelai said giving him a kiss and dropping her handbag on the sideboard before heading up the stairs. Luke gave a small sigh and scratched the back of his neck for a second, wondering if maybe he should wake Jess up. Knowing how he felt about Rory, Jess was many things but a good liar when it came to her? Nope. And seeing him pine for her, well it hurt Luke.

He made to wake his nephew up. But stopped himself short. 

Jess was thirty now. He couldn't keep interfering. 

He waved it off.

He'd speak in the morning.

Turning himself away from the sleepers on the sofa, Luke followed Lorelai upstairs.


	2. You Were Saying About Eggs?

"What kind of medication do they have you on?"

Jess looked up, holding his coffee between his hands and blinking slightly as he tried to gather his thoughts. Drowsy still from how early it was and how comfortable the sofa had been, he was still grumpy with his uncle for waking him up at ... 6.30.

Who the hell got up at 6.30 if they had a choice? Wake up at 6.45, live a little crazy. Watching Luke move around the kitchen prepping and cleaning and putting things away, Jess rubbed his face for a second before collecting his thoughts.

"None."

Luke stopped, looking over. "None?"

"Well they offered but I didn't want any." Jess said with a shrug, his foot uncomfortable and at this moment, itchy as hell. "Valium and Vicodin."

"And you didn't take it?"

"Hey, I saw House."

Luke hovered for a moment then let his shoulders drop. "You're not Liz you know."

Jess looked up, dark circles around his eyes, a long time ago, he would have gotten angry at Luke for saying that. He would have lashed out. He would have started shouting, what did that mean? _What was he insinuating?_ Instead, Jess let his shoulders drop, staring at the coffee mug for a long moment then sighed. 

"I know. But I still don't want to risk it. You know how long it took me to get off the cigarettes." He said. "And with Liz's track record," His voice faltered for a second then he glanced over shaking his head as he then took a long drink. 

Luke gave a sigh, finishing washing the dishes and then sitting down opposite Jess, his nephew had come so far that it almost shocked Luke that it was the same teen who stepped off that bus all those years ago. The pride that came within him was just bursting at the seams. But Luke couldn't help but just worry. The same as he always did. Jess was brought up in a hell of a household. And he didn't deserve half the crap that Stars Hollow threw at him. At which, Luke wasn't entirely aware of how bad it had gotten and how quickly the town had turned on him. It wasn't fair. It wasn't right.

"What are you doing here Jess?"

"Drinking coffee." Jess replied sleepily. 

"No, I mean here. In Stars Hollow. I know it's not just visiting me, you're staying in the apartment, you haven't gone home to Philly in weeks- what's going on Jess?"

Jess shrugged it off, closing his eyes for a second, quietly mulling everything over then looking over. 

"Is it because of Rory?"

"Please."

"You said you were over her." Luke said.

"I am." Jess responded quietly. 

"Yet you're here?"

"Helping her with a work thing. You know that."

"Ah yes the work thing. Where you come around to edit every week? Instead of doing it when the first draft is done?" Luke gave a nod.

Jess pouted. "I should never have let you see how we do things." He said after a moment. "Look, I'm over her. Trust me, she's having a baby. She's still in love with the guy who's baby it is. She's moved on. I've moved on." He took a sip of his coffee. "And I'm a freelance now."

"Freelance?"

"I pick up different writers and work with them out of Philly, widening our reach so to speak." Jess explained. 

"The company's branching out?" Luke asked.

"We're gaining some traction." 

Luke sighed and shook his head. He didn't believe a word out of Jess's mouth but he was in no mood to argue. Stubborn hothead. "Enough traction to give Rory an advance on her book?"

"It's good. You should read it."

"I'll get a signed copy when it's published." Luke said with some finality. "Jess, I don't want you setting yourself up for disappointment. Rory might never look at you that way again. Especially with this baby on the way. Her head's gonna be full of that and that alone for a very long time."

"I know."

"And you know, with Logan and all of what comes with it, and his father being an almighty asshole, you might want to just take a step back."

"Rory asked me to stay." Jess said with some finality. "I didn't beg."

"I don't think you did, but I just... I want you to be careful. the Gilmores are heartbreakers. Over and over again."

Jess fell silent shaking his head, knowing that Luke was just looking out for him, but the idea he was still in love with Rory was ridiculous. It was stupid. He was just there as a friend. They hadn't dated in years, and it had been over a decade since they had kissed last. Whatever spark that they had between them was down to nothing else but teenage hormones and wanting what you couldn't have. He could never have Rory. He could never win her heart. Not when it belonged to others. He knew that. And yet part of him always wondered what it would have been like if she had said yes to him that day he appeared at her Yale dorm. If she had taken the chance to be with him. 

But he couldn't spend all his years pining. She hadn't. He had moved on.

Luke sat back, thumb tapping on the wood of the kitchen table for a second before then standing. "You want eggs?" He asked.

"Eggs sound great." 

"HELP!"

Luke immediately dropped the spatula, both his and Jess' head swirling in the direction of Rory, sudden panic going through their heads. Luke darted into the sitting room, Jess hobbled onto his foot, before cursing himself. Grabbing his crutches and moving through. Luke was already helping Rory to her feet as she tried to get some balance, her bouncing slightly on her heels as she then darted as quickly as she could towards the bathroom. 

Blinking, Jess glanced over at Luke, who was giving a relieved sigh. "It's alright. She got stuck and needed the bathroom." He said. "She normally goes around this time."

Jess raised an eyebrow. 

"I'm usually up anyway and see her in passing." Luke explained. 

"Then why did you jump when she shouted?" Jess challenged a small smug smile as he followed his uncle into the kitchen again. 

"I've never heard her shout for help in the morning before." Luke grunted.

Jess let it roll, not saying a word as he returned to his seat. His leg hurting as he sat down. Giving a groan, he reached over and gave it a scratch the best he could. "You were saying about eggs?"

Luke bent low, grabbing the spatula and then turning the stove on. "You want?"

"Always."

Luke glanced over his shoulder and got cracking with some breakfast for the both of them. Jess was sure there was more to this conversation, since Luke had gotten him up early, but since Rory was now awake that was probably going to be shelved for a later date. Luke had nothing to worry about. They were just friends. That's all that they were and all that they needed to be. 

Luke was worried for no good reason.

"This baby is using my bladder as a squeeze toy." Rory grumbled moving into the kitchen and sitting down opposite Jess, giving a huge huff. 

"Rachel Green called and asked you to stop using her lines." Luke said over his shoulder.

"You watched Friends?" Jess asked, blinking in surprise.

"They made me watch it." Came the gruff reply, as Rory sniggered. "Worst week of my life."

Jess shook his head and looked over at Rory. "Coffee?"

"It's the decaf."

"I know."

"Yes please."

Standing from his seat, Jess then remembered about his ankle and stopped short. Giving a small huff and shaking his head, but deciding to continue onwards. Luke shoved him down again and gave him a scolding look before heading off towards the coffee pot. Leaning back down in his seat, Jess tapped his fingers against the wood with some thought.

"Your mom and Doula are visiting today." Luke said after a moment of silence had passed. 

"Thanks for the heads up. I'll be gone before they even arrive." Jess said. Rory narrowed her eyes at that and gave him a gentle tap on his arm. Jess didn't budge and opened his palms in a mock surrender. "Look, they don't want to see me, I don't want to see them." He said.

"That's a lie and you know it." Rory said. "I've seen you with Doula. It's adorable."

"Stop."

"A real big brother."

"I'm begging you to stop."

"Inseparable." Luke chimed in.

"Not you too." Jess warned, eyes flashing slightly. Rory caught the expression and went silent for a second before then giving a sigh, knowing how Jess was towards his own family was always a sore point, so she wasn't willing to push it. Instead her fingers twitched, looking over to clasp his hand in reassurance. To remind him that he wasn't just Liz's teenage mistake. Rory resisted, figuring it was the lack of sleep that was making her pine for someone to hold her like that. 

"You're coming to your grandmothers tonight right?" Luke asked, now the focus on Rory which she could see Jess was grateful for. All eyes turned to watch as she shifted uncomfortably.

"I don't know. Grandma and me seem to be in a holding pattern." Rory said shuffling in her seat, feeling watched and judged. Coffee cups were placed in front of them from Luke, giving her an odd sense of Deja-Vu. Almost touching on memories of the diner on school mornings before Lorelai had fully woken up. Jess raised the coffee to his lips and watched carefully as Rory continued. "I don't think she's forgiven me yet."

"Aren't you talking?" Jess asked.

"Yes. But it's that weird sort of passive-aggressive talking that she's doing at the moment. I'm trying not to take it so badly but she's been in a bad mood since she found out it's Logan's baby. I think she thinks we should be married like mom and dad were meant to be before they had me."

"It's 2017, she's got to wake up and smell the coffee." Jess said. "Or in this case - diapers."

Rory ignored him. "I mean, I can come anyway."

Luke waved his hand. "We'll figure it out." He said shrugging it off. "I just thought that we could use a bit of back-up where it came to your mom's inn."

"Grandma still being picky about where it is?" Rory asked.

"We can talk about it later." Luke once again reassured. 

"Grandma may never change." Rory summarized with a slight shake of her head, hands curling around her mug, she nudged Jess' arm playfully and smiled. "You should have seen her when she found out I was pregnant."

"I can imagine." Jess said.

"She wasn't that bad." Luke said. 

"She called mom a delinquent for letting me stray so far. She called you a money-laundering truck driver don't you remember?" 

"She was just angry." Luke defended quietly, setting down a set of plates for both of them. "She'll get over it soon enough."

"27 weeks, I'm not counting my bets." A shrug and Rory picked up her fork and began shovelling egg off of her toast, picking it up and biting into it. Jess copied her actions almost instinctively, before reaching into his back pocket and pulling out the folded book that he was currently reading. The kitchen went silent except for the scrapes of forks and knifes and chewing. Luke had already eaten, so he stood at the sink, washing up and prepping batter for Lorelai's pancakes, before leaning against the edge whilst drying it and watching the two of them in their early morning routine. 

They seemed so comfortable around each other. So at ease like it was the easiest thing that came to them. Rory was so good to Jess. She made him realize where he was going wrong. She helped him to get on the right path. She did that. She stopped him from falling off the face of this earth. Luke knew that Lorelai would argue it was Rory and Luke who did that. But he also knew that a large chunk of what Jess had made for himself was because Jess really did try. He really did what he could. And it was a joy to watch.

And there was Jess. Who came back to Rory in her times of need. Her dropping out of Yale. He convinced her to go back. Her finding no direction in her life? Jess gave her the spark to take back her life. 

Luke worried his bottom lip. A part of him had always hoped that they would find themselves again. But the worry that Jess would have his heart broken and fall off the edge again, would throw it all away to drugs or alcohol or cigarettes again. Jess liked to pretend he was strong. Luke knew better. And Rory had obviously moved on.

Rory finished quickly, plucking the book from Jess' hand and reading the cover blurb interested. Turning it over in her hand, she read the first page with curiosity before waving it in front of Jess' face.

"You know it's rude to tease me like this." She said. "You know full well I haven't read this yet and want to. And here you are with it in hand."

Jess took the book back from her and smiled lopsided. "Payback." He told her with ease.

Rory beamed slightly before pushing herself off from the seat, passing her plate to Luke. "Thanks for the eggs." She said softly, pressing a kiss against his cheek and giving him a hug. Luke reciprocating in kind. "I'm going to head off to bed and try and get a few more hours sleep."

"Gotta rest that brain for that book." Jess looked up.

"Exactly." She nodded, before moving to her room. "See you later Jess." With that she was gone, closing the door to her childhood bedroom behind her. Jess watched for a moment then gave a sigh, drinking more of his coffee, catching Luke's glance before hiding in his book. The conversation would continue.

They both knew this.

* * *

"Hi mom." 

"Lorelai!" Emily wrapped her arms around Lorelai and gave her a small kiss on the cheek. "Hello Luke." She greeted, looking up as her daughter was joined. "Come on in - oh remember I just had the carpets done, so take off your shoes and we can go and get something to drink on the balcony."

Lorelai beamed slightly, reaching down and taking off her heels, placing them to one side of the smaller more comfortable beach home that her mom now took residency in. It was far more wholesome than the home that she had grown up in and it seemed to be doing wonders for Emily's wellbeing. Luke quietly passed her the small bouquet of flowers that they had picked up for her and Emily beamed, pressing her face into the fragrance.

"Oh how wonderful, I'll pop these in water right away." She said, moving around and heading off towards the kitchen.

"You?" Lorelai asked, tilting herself to follow her mom. "What happened to the maid?"

"Berta? Oh I gave her the week off. She has her grandsons wedding next week and she's extremely stressed. I let her have time to go over to..." Emily paused. "Well I'm not sure which country she was flying to but it sounded very important." Emily curled her hands around the bouquet and made her way around the kitchen, finding a vase and beginning to trim the stems so she could put them in water.

"So what are we having for dinner then?" Lorelai blinked. 

"I'm not sure. I was thinking we could go out together." Emily responded. "There's this wonderful little restaurant not far from here that does an amazing steak - oh and Luke you have to try the crab cakes!"

Luke shifted uncomfortably. "I don't like crab cakes."

Emily paused, looking up at him with a narrowing of her eyes. "You don't like crab cakes?" She asked, all lightness of her tone disappearing.

Lorelai ducked her head slightly, moving into Luke's arm. "Take it back. Take it back. Take it back." She muttered quietly. 

"I mean - I don't eat crab-cakes unless it's a special occasion!" Luke said.

"Nice save." Lorelai beamed, trying to keep herself from giggling too much.

Emily seemed to take that at face value. "Drinks?" She asked.

"Martini. Dry. Twist. On the rocks." Lorelai said promptly. 

"None for me, Emily, thank you." Luke said. "Just a sparkling water. I gotta drive Jess back to Hartford, his car is in the shop."

Emily went still. "Jess?" A blink. "Jess, your nephew Jess?"

Lorelai blinked, looking between them and sensing already building tension throw off in waves from Emily. "Jess was visiting for a few days, but he's going back to his parents right Luke?"

"What? No, he was visiting Rory for her book about you guys." Came Luke's confused voice. Lorelai blinked. Oh God.

"Jess, that little hoodlum who turned up at dinner with a black eye?" Emily said, her voice sharp. "I thought he was out of Rory's life? You never said he was back."

"Mom, yes, Jess is in Rory's life but only as a friend." Lorelai said, turning towards her mother, eager not to get into an argument about Rory's love-life tonight. Especially when things were already on tender hooks. 

"And you think it's okay for her to be around him? Remember how much pain he caused her? Remember when he got into fights and turned up to dinner with a black eye? How he trashed a house? How he got Rory into an accident? Or have you forgotten all of that?" Emily said, her voice now becoming shrill and eerily similar to the arguments had over ten years ago.

"Wait- didn't Jess tell you he got beaked by a swan?"

Lorelai wasn't paying attention, her eyes focused on her mother. "Look, mom, I know Jess was a rough patch for Rory, but he's changed. He's good now. Real good. A solid kid. Who appreciates my jokes-"

"Oh well that's fantastic! A model citizen Lorelai!" Emily cried.

"And he's worked hard to become a good person." Lorelai finished, her face flushing with anger, not believing for a second that she was defending Jess to her mother. Perhaps it was more the question of judgement on Rory's part. "He has a publishing company, he has been driving the same car for ten years, he's been clearing out my gutters for weeks now-"

"That's not the point Lorelai, and you know it."

"What's the point then mom? Because I've read the book, seen the movie, gone to several lectures about it, but still don't have a clue what's going on." Lorelai said.

"The point is, Rory is pregnant and you've left that boy around her when she is meant to be with the father of her baby!"

And there it was. Lorelai felt her cheeks pinken slightly, angry and trying not to let the seething rage burn out too much. There had been too much progress to go back on it all now. Too much had been resolved. All their lives, their relationship had been delicate. And it was a curse that they would always fall back into bad habits. Into cruel habits.

Luke saw that too. He took the glass out of Lorelai's hand and stood her up. "I think we should go Emily." He said simply. "Come on,"

"Fine! Go!" Emily said, snapping angrily, her arms going over her cardigan and staring at them as Luke moved Lorelai out of the front room. 

Lorelai seemed stuck on her words until Luke got her out. Holding her shoes in his hand as he guided her towards the car and they got in quietly. Without breaking that silence. Lorelai reached for the seatbelt and gave a low sigh. Staring out in front of her as Luke began guiding the car out from the drive of the elder Gilmore's home. Her head in her hand and letting out a shaky breath. It was good that she backed down, yes, confrontations with her mother always cut to the core. She had been fighting with her for most of her life. There was always something that Emily didn't approve of. She gently leaned her head against the window, feeling the vibrations of the stone path under the tyres. It was good that there was no real confrontation right? That she was learning to pick her battles right? 

God, she didn't defend Rory properly. That made her stomach twist into knots.

As if Luke could hear her thoughts, he reached out and touched her knee. Lorelai took his hand in both of hers and gave a small shaky sigh. "Why did you mention Jess?" She asked softly.

"I can't mention my own nephew?" Luke asked.

"Luke, you knew that mom wasn't in a good place with Rory's pregnancy and what it meant for the family. She wants Rory to marry this Logan. She sees her making all the mistakes I did. The golden child. The one that was meant to be like her. Jess is like... I don't know, adding fuel to the fire." She sighed.

"Look," He replied softly, turning onto the main stretch of road. "I know Jess is a touchy subject, but Rory's entitled to have friends in her life. Even if Jess is still in love with her, what's the harm? They're working on this book together. It's a work thing. And I've already told him not to get involved."

Lorelai blinked. "He's still in love with Rory?" She asked.

Luke gave a sigh and shook his head. "He says he isn't. But I know Jess better than that." He glanced over his shoulder. "Don't worry, we've spoken about it. Rory is off limits."

"Well that's very chivalrous." Lorelai said. "Did you consider what Rory wants?"

"What Rory wants is a nice, easy, stress free pregnancy." Luke told her, giving her hand a squeeze. "Jess isn't going to do anything. He's smarter than that. We talked about it."

She gave a sigh, holding on still to his hand. She had to trust the fact that Luke did know Jess better than anyone else. She had to trust that what he said was right. They had gotten into fights about Jess before. But, he had seemed to put his life together. And he never made a move on Rory since he had come back to Stars Hollow. And he was helping her on her book. 

"Jess is going to Hartford tonight. He's catching a plane tomorrow morning. He's not coming back for a while."

"So he says." Lorelai said.

"So I say." Luke told her. "Rory can finish her book and send it off to him when he's in Philly, then she can relax until the baby comes."

Lorelai sighed, giving a nod. Okay. That sounded good. She would phone mom tomorrow and smooth things over. Letting her know that this was going to be it between Rory and Jess. A small tug at her heart as her mind asked if Rory knew about Jess leaving again. Yeah it wouldn't break her, but she didn't want to think of some ramifications that could come from it.

Her eyes cast glance over towards Luke. "Jess got beaked by a swan?" She asked, a smile breaking across her red lips.


	3. I Get A Free Pass to Pass Out

When she pictured pregnancy, she didn't picture this.

She didn't picture having to wait alone in a waiting room surrounded by other couples who were all in varying levels of gestation. She always pictured that she was going to be one of those girls. That she would have someone beside her during the scans. Not Luke waiting outside parked in his car. Maybe she would have been with Dean. If she hadn't done such stupid things to lose him. Maybe she could be sitting with him instead of on her own, her fingers twisted around the book that Jess had given her. Or maybe if she had been smarter, she would have been with Logan. And he would be the one with her. Shifting uncomfortably in her seat, she gave a low sigh and looked around. Most of the girls were in a coupling. Maybe one or two like her who didn't have anyone else. Or maybe their partners were working or whatever. She looked angrily on at one of the girls, who was surrounded by two men, before realizing with a bitter tone chastising her on how stupid she was. That girl was probably a surrogate. She didn't have a wedding ring. The guys that she was with, did.

Shaking her head, she brought the book back up to her face, trying to focus on the paragraph that she had been reading for the last twenty minutes. Jess had scribbled in the margins of this book too. A trait that he never really stopped. Good. It was good to know that Jess was still more or less the same. Just a little less destructive.

She read the small note beside the paragraph and smiled, his handwriting still very neat and very precise, the words that he had marked in the page a small reflection on how he felt during reading it. He had asterisked it, continuing his thoughts at the end of the chapter where there was more space. 

With interest, Rory flicked ahead to the end, to see a single word instead at the end of the page. A little confused, she brought it up to her nose, confused for a second before reading the word over again. "Her."

"The movie?" She murmured softly, casting her mind to try and decipher what Jess meant. She hadn't watched it herself, still having not found a right time to really sit down and focus on it. Mom had watched it though and she loved it. Luke thought it was a little weird. Rory reached into her purse and pulled out her cellphone, writing a small reminder to watch the movie tonight when she got home, hoping that it might clear up what Jess was meaning. But there was no time-code so she had to assume she had to watch the whole thing to get what he meant.

She paused, staring at the tiny screen of her phone, pursing her lips and then tucking her book into her purse. Opening up her last message she sent to Jess, knowing that he probably wouldn't see it till he landed in Philly. His flight was due to take off in about twenty minutes. Knowing Jess, he had probably already turned off his phone so that he could read in peace before the flight.

Hartford to Philadelphia was a short flight, but Jess wouldn't have taken the time to have some quiet away from the modern world in vein. It was the one place he could feel guilt-free about not answering his cell. Where he was able to drop off and disappear. 

Rory wasn't even sure what she was going to say. Maybe ask what he meant? Maybe see how his flight went? Maybe ask him when he found time to watch a Joaquin Phoenix movie and not get annoyed by the subtext?

All of these were viable. 

As if to pull her from her thoughts, a nurse called her name and the room that she was to go to. Standing up, she grabbed her purse and made her way to the room, poking her head around the door.

"Ah, Miss Gilmore!" Doctor Rosenberg said, welcoming her in with a gesture towards the table. "How are we today?" They asked.

"Good."

"Nausea?"

"Still none." Rory said, dropping her purse and sat on the uncomfortable table she was going to lie on shortly. Okay it had cushions but she had sat in comfier airport lounges. 

"Are you sure you're actually pregnant?" Doctor Rosenberg asked with a smile, gently lifting Rory's shirt up to expose her stomach. Spreading their fingers, they pressed gently against the skin and took a moment guiding their hand around the swollen bump. 

"Pretty sure since I gotta pee every ten minutes." Rory said. "Me and my mom have been eating for two our entire lives, never nauseous. So I count it as a blessing." She smiled slightly, watching as Doctor Rosenberg went about checking the notes on the computer.

"Alright Rory, if you want to roll up your sleeve and we'll take some bloods to assess how things are going. Do a few checks like weight and size, collect some fluids etc. Then we'll get to the fun part. The scan." They smiled and showed amazing pearly white teeth, so much so that Rory was beginning to believe that Doctor Rosenberg had never touched a drop of coffee in their life. Either that or they were a robot. One of the two.

"Now, since you're in your 27th week," Doctor Rosenberg said, checking the notes on the computer again. "That means we can do a gender check, if you would like."

Rory shook her head. "No finding out the gender. I wanna wait."

the Doctor nodded their head, tying a tourniquet around her arm tightly. "Want it to be a surprise? What are you hoping for?" They asked, pulling out a needle.

Rory turned her head away, knowing that Doctor Rosenberg was trying to steer her through the worst of the tests first, always hating when blood was taken. After getting it done every week for the last 15 weeks, she thought she would be over it by now. Instead it was just as bad.

"I don't mind." Rory said with a shaky exhale. "I haven't really processed the whole thing yet. I think I'm hoping for a girl, to carry on the family tradition. My grandmother had my mom. And then my mom had me. So it feels like a girl." She didn't move.

"Have you got a name picked out yet?" Came Doctor Rosenberg's soothing voice.

"Keeping that a secret." Rory said.

"Good idea. I find that relatives like to put their word in before the baby is even born when they find out the name. Alright we're done, you can look now."

Rory let out an exhale as she felt the tourniquet unwrap from her arm and she glanced down to see Doctor Rosenberg already sticking labels to the vials. The worst of it was over. She moved her sleeve down her arm and watched carefully as Doctor Rosenberg made a note and put the blood samples into a plastic bag for analysis. "Alright Rory." They said. "Lets get measuring, and then I'm going to go ask you to pee in a cup."

"You know, you ask me to do this every two weeks, I'm starting to think that you're building a clone of me or something, you don't tell me what the pee and the blood is for. If you ask for my hair I'm going to start thinking you're going to Colin Clive me." Rory chimed.

"I promise, if I do make a Frankensteins monster from your pee and blood, you'll be the first to know." Doctor Rosenberg said with ease, taking out her measuring tape and hooking it around Rory's lack of waist. Measuring the front part carefully, they made a note again and then handed her a small plastic beaker, pointing towards the bathroom for her to go pee in.

Rory slid off the table and waddled over towards the bathroom. Switching on the light and locking the door behind her. Doing what she needed to do before returning to Doctor Rosenberg, checking an email quickly. 

A small exchange of thank yous followed by another Frankenstein joke, then one about Dolly the Sheep before Doctor Rosenberg, asked her to lie down on the table as they went to get the ultrasound machine from the corner of the room.

"So," Doctor Rosenberg said, spreading the weird lube stuff on Rory's stomach and smoothing it over with the ultrasound device. "Have you heard from him?"

Rory gave a sigh, head hitting the back of the elevated table. Doctor Rosenberg was about the only person to know the full extent of the conversation that she had had between herself and Logan. That and Lorelai. And Lorelai had told a garbled version to Luke. She hadn't said anything to Grandma. Maybe to spare her the pain of Rory not having the father around at all.

"No." Rory said quietly. "The argument was the last thing that we had. I haven't heard from him at all. He told me to get rid of it. That having a baby with someone who wasn't his fiancé was a bad look for the family. I've seen Logan fly off the handle before, but never like that. I'm still kind of reeling from it."

"Maybe he'll come around." Doctor Rosenberg said.

"That's what I used to think. But as each week goes by, I think he's too stubborn. His dad will have heard by now and he'll be just as pissed." She gave a sigh. "It's better this way." She said with some finality.

"Well, if it's any consolation, men ain't worth shit." Doctor Rosenberg said with a smile. The small sonogram device against her stomach for a second before they leaned forward and flicked it on. 

"Amen to that." Rory pressed her head back and closed her eyes for a second, taking a deep breath. The sound of the ultrasound making her eyes open once again and she turned her head to look over at the screen. A small exhale from her as she saw the small image flicker over, then the sound of a heartbeat. 

* * *

"Baby scans! Baby scans! Baby scans!" Lorelai skidded in front of her daughter, desperate to see the images, Michel looking on from the reception of the Dragonfly Inn, his steely gaze not flinching for even a second. Rory beamed slightly, holding up the envelope in front of Lorelai, who promptly snatched it and began looking through each image with an intense delight on her face. "How is everything? Are you good? Did Luke give you food? Did you have to pee in a cup again? Has Doctor Rosenberg started drinking coffee yet or is their smile still weirdly too bright for a human? Did you finally cave and create a Frankensteins monster from your blood? Is it a boy? Is it a girl? Are you naming it after me?"

"Lor-" Luke tried to interrupt, to no avail. Rory tilted her head and began to answer back in equal succession of rapid fire responses.

"Good. Yes. No, we came straight here. Yes. No. No but I think they're planning on doing it soon. I don't know. I don't know and I'm not telling you if I am Mrs Danes."

"Urgh. You're no fun when you use my last name against me." Lorelai pouted, looping her arm around her daughters shoulder and giving her a squeeze. "And Luke! Not feeding my only child? No wonder she looks sick!"

"I'm not sick."

"She's malnourished! Can't you see that she's wasting away to practically nothing?" Lorelai said. 

"Practically nothing? I'm the size of a blue whale."

"Yes and by time dinner rolls around you'll be the size of a dolphin and then when 9pm hits you'll be the size of a shrimp."

"I think you're being overdramatic." Luke piped up from behind. "I asked Rory if she wanted food, she said no." He shrugged it off, looking over them both, where Lorelai made a face. 

"I miss eating shrimp." Mused Rory quietly. 

"Is it a boy? Is it a girl?" Lorelai pressed. 

"Mom, remember, I'm not finding out until it actually comes." 

"But it's so dull. I want to know if it's going to be Luke Jnr or Lorelai Jnr."

"Quick side-note Rory." Luke interrupted. "Please don't name your kid Luke Jnr."

"Duly noted." Rory nodded.

"And not after some snack or film star." Luke added. 

Rory turned her expression. "Well that's my plan for little Judy Garland Jnr out the window." She said.

"A-HA! So it is a she!" Lorelai declared.

Rory rolled her eyes and moved away, finding one of the seats to take and leaning back, feeling a little worn from this morning. And now that she really considered, she was finding that she was in fact a little hungry. Sliding her purse off her shoulder, she placed it to one side as Lorelai joined her, still holding the images from the scan in between her fingers. Lorelai gave a small sigh, her expression still beaming. Rory watched carefully, remembering that morning that she told her mother so vividly. Then the inevitable fall-out that it was Logan's. Mom never really approved of Logan. She approved of him more than she ever approved of Jess. But less than she ever approved of Dean. There was a hierarchy system in place for ranking her boyfriends.

"How was last night with Grandma?" 

"Urgh, you really don't want to know kiddo." Lorelai said. "What about you? You were passed out when we got home."

Rory shifted. "I get a free pass to pass out." She told her mom with a scold.

"Mm, well I wish places were switched, we got into a big argument about Jess being around you whilst you're like this." Lorelai muttered. "I told mom to back off since it was a work thing." She glowered. "It is a work thing right?"

"I don't think Jess would date a pregnant lady anyway." Rory said with a shake of her head. "I didn't know he was heading back to Philadelphia today." This time the question was directed towards Luke who shuffled slightly in his boots. 

"Yeah - he had some urgent business that came up. Booked a flight and asked me to take him." He said. 

Rory gave a nod. "I figured. I just would have liked to say goodbye is all."

Lorelai cast a glance towards her daughter then towards Luke before clearing her throat and swallowing any pride she had. Rory, despite it all, still cared deeply for Jess. And since there was nothing between them now, Lorelai couldn't stop them being friends. "Well, why don't you give him a call?" She asked. "His flight should have landed a while ago right?" 

Luke shrugged. "I dunno, he never shared the details with me, you know what Jess is like."

Rory shook her head. "No, it's fine. If it's urgent business I better not." She gave a small sigh. Too many times he was gone and she never got to say goodbye. Maybe she was holding out too much hope that he would ever be that kind to just give her some parting words. Lorelai finally got to the last photo and gave a sigh. 

"Wouldn't it be Lorelai Jnr Jnr?" She asked.

"Lorelai the III." Rory corrected.

"Oh I like that." Lorelai perked up. 

"Absolutely not. We had to deflate your head already so you could fit through the door." Rory took back the ultrasound scans and tucked them back into the envelope. 

"Spoilsport." 

Rory slid the envelope back into her purse and leaned back in the sofa. "You got a spare room mom?" She asked quietly. Lorelai raised an eyebrow and opened her mouth but before a string of questions could leave her, Rory continued. "I could do with a nap and I don't want to drive back home. And Luke's gotta get to the diner." She said. "Plus I could do with being around the Dragonfly, so I can write a bit here too."

The older Gilmore's features softened gently. "Yeah I got a room for you kiddo." She said, pressing a kiss against her daughters temple and pushing her hair back. "Let me go get the key."

"Thanks mom."

"I gotta go too." Luke said, catching Lorelai quickly and he gave a soft kiss to her too, before giving Rory a wave and shuffling off out of the Inn. Lorelai watched for a second before then turning and moving behind the desk, grabbing the key from wall and marking it out in the books. Moving back to Rory, she passed her the key, before turning her head, frowning and reacting to something that Michel was saying under his breath. 

"I'll come up and check on you in a while." She called after her. 

"Thanks mom." Rory turned the keys in her palm and then went to grab her purse from the side, heading up the stairs and finding the room that her mom had given her. She had sneaked her laptop despite the arguments that Luke put up. For all he knew, she was just using her notebook. Thank God for the age of technology. Smiling to herself as she closed the door behind her, Rory guided her hand back to her purse and began looking through all the items she had inside. Stopping briefly to look at the book that she had been reading. Her lips pursed for a second as she dropped the bag onto the neatly made bed. 

"Stupid," She murmured softly before sitting at the desk, yanking out her laptop and setting it up. Waiting for it to connect, Rory checked her phone, hoping maybe that Logan called. Or sent a message. But his dad was keeping that lid on him pretty tight. Her second instinct was to call-

Shaking her head, she rolled herself towards the laptop and pulled up the document she was working on before reaching and grabbing her purse to get her notebook where she had scribbled out notes and memories that kept coming to her. Her eyes fell back on the book and she gave up trying to fight it. 

"Jess?"

Phone pressed against her ear, Rory waited, crossing her arm across her chest then fidgeting and leaning forward, pressing her fingers against her mouth, chewing her nails impatiently to see if he would pick up. "Jess?"

" 'Lo." Came the answer after the fifth ring. Best thing about Jess wasn't his hair or his reading. It was the fact that he didn't believe in voicemail. Rory smiled slightly to herself when she heard the sound of his voice.

"Didn't think you'd pick up." She said.

"Why'd you call then?" Jess said, sounding a little winded. Like he had made for a sprint. Rory frowned slightly at his question but didn't respond. 

"Good flight?"

"It was alright? Could you hold on for a second?" 

Oh. Rory went red slightly in the cheek but she gave a small nod, she had interrupted him. Shit. Shit. He was probably already at his publishing house getting down to work and she had interrupted him. It was fine for her. She didn't have a job - working at the newspaper did not count when it was just a volunteer gig. And here he was, making important decisions and doing good stuff and she was interrupting.

Jess arrived back on the phone, after a moment of shuffling. "Okay, I'm back."

"Important meeting?" Rory asked, ignoring the lump in her throat. 

"Important meeting?" He sounded confused.

"Yeah, Luke said you had important stuff to do back at the publishing house and that's why you went back to Philly."

"Did he now? Funny, I don't remember telling him that."

"So you do have a big meeting?"

"I was shifting my foot Rory." 

"Oh. How is it?"

"It's fine. It aches." Jess gave a sigh. "What's up? You got more stuff you wanna run by for your book?"

Rory thumbed the edge of her laptop and shook her head. "I haven't written anything since you last looked." She admitted. 

"So not a business call."

"I was just checking to see if your plane got in okay." Rory said, trying to come up with a reason for her phone call.

"I'm here. I'm okay. Barely noticed take-off and landing. Finished my book. Wish I took another one with me." He responded with ease. "It's only an hour long flight but those thirty minutes where I had nothing to read were a real drag." 

"I can bet." She smiled widely. "Hey, this book you let me borrow-"

"It's good right?"

"It's very romantic."

"You think it's romantic?"

"Did you not read the subtext?" Rory asked, frowning. "He's clearly in love with this girl. He just won't tell anyone. Even her. And it's eating him up inside."

"Rory, you know I hate subtext." 

"I think you secretly do." She teased. "You've written so many notes about it. Why did you make a reference to that Joaquin Phoenix movie?"

"The what movie?"

"That movie called 'Her'." Rory said. "You scribbled a note at the end of chapter three with it. I figured that it's gotta do with the movie but I haven't seen it so you're going to have to elaborate."

"Rory Gilmore not seeing a movie? Has the moon turned purple?" 

"Shut up. Just tell me what you mean so I don't have to go digging."

She could practically hear his stupid lopsided grin on the other end. Flicking through the pages, she waited for him to speak. "Figure it out yourself Gilmore. You're smart enough.

* * *

She must have fallen asleep. Hand curled around the cellphone, listening to the other end, Rory curled around on the bed, chest rising and falling gently as her other hand gently curled around her stomach, darkness seeping into the room. She was so comfortable, lying on the comforter, letting herself find some ounce of sleep. The comforter underneath her crumpled and messy as her head balanced on the pillows and her laptop gone quiet. Rory was quietly comfortable. Letting Jess read to her from one of his unpublished books. The story was good, it left a warm feeling inside her. But as much as she wanted to listen to it, she found sleep overbearing.

The door to the room clicked open and Lorelai crept in. Spotting her daughter sound on the bed, she did a quick check and saw her laptop still open, though the screen was black and her notebook lay to one side. Moving closer, she sat down at the edge of the bed and picked up the cellphone. Pressing it against her ear, she gave a frown.

"Hello?"

"Rory?"

"No - Lorelai."

"Oh." 

"Is that you Jess?" Lorelai's frown got even deeper, just as Rory shifted, fast asleep.

"Yeah."

"You know - out of state calls are very expensive."

A small laugh and Jess replied evenly. "She called me. Stuff about the book. Wanted to talk about where she was going to end it. She asked me if I had anything unpublished yet and then we got talking - she wanted me to read to her."

"How romantic." Lorelai said with a slight tenseness to her voice.

"Lorelai - it's not like that."

"Look, Jess, you broke her heart before. She's a lot more fragile now."

"Rory is many things. Fragile is not one of them."

"True, but she's carrying another man's baby. If you're going to be in her life, then you got to commit to being in her life. You can't just duck out when you feel like it. You being around is confusing, I don't know what's going on - Rory is lonely and she needs to sort this thing out with Logan and if she chooses you, then fine so be it, I won't get in the way, but I'm begging you, Jess. I've seen the way you look at her. The way you stare after her when she leaves a room. If you're going to be in her life, don't be a selfish jerk again. Okay?"

The line was silent for a moment. "There's nothing between us."

Lorelai sighed. "Are you sure about that?" She asked.

"Even if there was, I'm not going to break her heart again. I would never do that to her."

That filled Lorelai with a bit more ease. "Alright then. Glad we talked." She said, she gave a sigh ready to hang up. 

"Tell Luke I'm moving back to Stars Hollow."


End file.
